MOT test checklist – can these simple checks help you pass?

The SMMT checklist is much more helpful than their list of headings that has been used for the multiple answer poll.

One of the points covered is checking that seat belts lock if given a sharp tug. Though I check the driver’s seatbelt regularly, I admit to not having done this for the passengers’ seatbelts. I did with my first car that had inertia reel seatbelts but not after that.

They should employ a good software tester – I can be available for a fee 😉

A lot has changed since you posted, John. It illustrates how a small sample size can be unrepresentative.

I expect that some people will have marked all the boxes without spotting that the last one is ‘I don’t do any checks before my MOT test’. I nearly did that myself, and that question should really have been first in the list to help avoid mistakes. Thanks to recent improvements in the website, we should be able to see which answers we selected in multiple answer questions – the answers chosen previously will be in bold italics.

I expect that when the poll is closed we will discover that most of those participating are more careful about checking their cars than the average motorist.

Hmmm – break the law, risk being stopped by the police and possibly endanger lives, to save the cost of having a bulb fitted. Is that really what you are advocating, Clint?

Not at all. A new light bulb would have necessitated a trip to a spares shop, same distance as the MOT garage, and I drove in full daylight on a known route that didn’t have any dark tunnels/bridges etc.

OK. I’ve given my comment the ‘thumbs down’. But a lot of drivers drive round for weeks or months with faulty lights.

No need to do that, wavechange. You had a valid point, given the information you had at the time you made it. So I’ve given you a thumbs-up to even it up 😉

I used to do that too, but my preference is to have the MOT a month before the tax is due. That way, if the car fails the MOT, before I pay loads of money on road tax I have a month to decide if it’s worth repairing it, selling it, or scrapping it. Sadly, most of the time the MOT is due up to a month *after* the tax, because when I buy a second-hand car from a dealer (I never buy new cars as they depreciate too much) the dealer usually supplies it with a year’s tax and MOT. The tax runs from the beginning of the month (so drivers pay for time they haven’t used, how unfair is that) while the MOT is from the exact date of the test.

There are many misconceptions on what constitutes an MOT “RfR” (reason for rejection), a cracked or damaged headlight lens may cause a problem when headlight aim is tested ie part of the reflected beam is beyond allowed parameters, in other words be blinding other drivers.
Water landing on a hot bulb can cause immediate bulb failure.

The rfr’s for number plates are based around their readability, this could be seen as an important factor when a dangerous or dangerously driven vehicle needs to be identified on the road.

MOT testers are generally sensible folk and are well regulated but are not allowed to work on vehicles during a test (apart from minor adjustments to such thing as headlight aim).
I do not know of any normal service which includes a test on brake rollers or on the emissions equipment, even after having a vehicle serviced there are items unchecked which may cause a MOT failure certificate to be issued.

One other point there are a number of MOT stations here in England which are not service centres and do not carry parts or spares.

Good point, this test does not include the older 7 pin sockets but revised inspection of the towbar mounting are also now included.

Once you have been issued with an MOT failure certificate it becomes the current certificate and invalidates any previously issued certificate, in such circumstances it is possible to effectively reduce the duration of a current MOT if the vehicle is no longer viable.

Thanks Bob. It’s good when the law agrees with what seems to be commonsense. 🙂

Bob, strictly speaking what you said is not correct. Technically, the old MOT is still valid. In fact, a garage once told me that they don’t even notify VOSA of MOT failures – they only update the database when it passes. However, you could be prosecuted for knowingly driving an unroadworthy vehicle (and in fact this is true at any time, not just when it fails an MOT.) For more information, see this website:
http://www.confused.com/news-views/blogs/can-you-drive-your-car-if-it-has-failed-mot

As an example, several years ago I had an old car that failed its MOT because it had failed the exhaust emissions test. It was uneconomical to fix (would have cost more than the car itself was worth) and I had a month left on the previous MOT, so I continued to drive it while I advertised on eBay for sale for spare parts. A mechanic bought it and drove it away. I feel that morally it was ok, because it was not unsafe, it was just polluting a little bit more than it should, but probably not as much as a 4×4 Chelsea tractor with a 4.2 litre V8 engine that had just passed the MOT with flying colours.

S.Freud

Read Luke 6:42.

Some urgent revision needed on the id, ego and super-ego differentiation!

Hi Mr. Freud – I’m sure you are right that I spend too long on this website, but I have had a bit of a break over the Christmas period, when I was too busy meeting up with friends I see only once a year.

Any thoughts on ensuring that your car will pass the MOT?